U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles [Paperback]

George Mindling (Author), Robert Bolton (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2011

The U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles, 1949-1969, The Pioneers offers the rich, fascinating history of the first surface-to-surface tactical missiles of the U.S. Air Force, the winged, nuclear-capable Matador and Mace missiles, and their units and personnel in West Germany, Taiwan, Korea, Okinawa and the United States. The U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles, 1949-1969, The Pioneers ties that unique era and those of other tactical missiles together in a remarkably broad, deep and valuable perspective that also includes the World War II German V-1 and reaches back all the way to the first flight in the United States in 1916 of an aircraft not controlled by a pilot.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: lulu.com (October 3, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0557000297
• ISBN-13: 978-0557000296
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #741,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nicely Fills a Gap in Aerospace History, April 28, 2009

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Terry Sunday (El Paso, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles (Paperback)

"U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles" is an excellent, comprehensive history of a very little-known aspect of the development and operational deployment of American guided missiles in the early days of the Cold War. The title may lead one to believe that the book is a fairly broad outline of tactical missiles developed during that period. But it really covers just one system--the Glenn L. Martin Company's TM-61 "Matador" turbojet-powered cruise missile and its follow-on, the upgraded TM-76 "Mace."

The level of detail in "U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles" is remarkable. The authors start out with an assessment of the world's first practical, mass-produced cruise missile--the German V-1 ("Vergeltungswaffe Eins," or "Vengeance Weapon 1") "flying bomb" that Hitler used against England and other European targets in World War II. I thought I knew a lot about the V-1, but I learned things I never knew when I read this book. Some of the technical details about its design, construction and method of operation have never, to my knowledge, appeared in print before, at least not in readily accessible form. The authors apply the same level of detail to the story of the design, development, flight testing and overseas deployment of the "Matador" and "Mace," which trace their lineage directly back to the V-1. Much of "U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles" is based on reminiscences of former "missileers" with first-hand experience in the care and feeding of "Matadors" and "Maces" in the field. As such, it has the flavor of an "oral history" in which people and their experiences play at least as important a role as the technology.

Very little has been written about America's early cruise missiles. As far as I know, "U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles" is the only available book-length treatment of this relatively obscure subject. An interesting, in-depth and readable volume, "U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles" deserves a place on the bookshelf of every serious aerospace history buff.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AF Tactical Missiles, February 22, 2011

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Camera guy (Pleasanton, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles (Paperback)

OUTSTANDING!!! While extremely detailed, the included stories read like a novel. If you want an honest slice of Air Force history, this is a book for you. Additionally, if you need detailed, well researched facts about a critical weapon system often overlooked by many researchers, you will want this book in your library. I am an avid historian -- one who likes to peel the layers of the historical onion back, revealing the unvarnished truths of our past, and I am a Tactical Missile veteran. The stories of the air-breathing Matador and Mace catapulted me back to the 7 years I was a Mace Missileman, serving 4 years in the field at Sembach, Germany and 3 years at Lowry AFB, Colorado. I went on to support other tactical missile programs, including our modern cruise missiles and the amazing Pershing II. The men and women who supported these programs, often in horrible conditions and under immanent threat owe a debt of thanks to Robert Bolton and George Manning for compiling and writing this amazing book. For some, the level of detail may be overwhelming, as the book chronicles the ever changing organizational (unit) changes and the Military's whipsawed renaming of the missile systems, but, much like Grants memoirs, if you are a casual reader, there is too much history in this book to allow yourself to get lost in these detailed (yet accurate) bits of information. If you aren't into such details, quickly speed read through them and savor each story told by those who were there -- it's a fun read. The authors have successfully melded both a detailed scholarly research piece with incredible historical stories told by both junior enlisted men and senior officers, held together by the national conditions of that time. Well done!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of a kind!, November 3, 2009

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Guillermo P. Font (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles (Paperback)

Very thoroughly researched!...It reveals the importance of the role played by these weapons during the cold war and its effect on such dangerous moments in recent history! A very important document in my library.